Talking of Britney, oh, so much to report from that camp I'm not sure where to begin. Oh, I know, let's start here. A former manager of the troubled popstar is suing her for $15,000 over allegations she has failed to pay him for work he helped produce.
Johnny Wright and his Wright Entertainment Group managed Spears between 1999 and 2003, but, his lawsuit says, he had a deal which said he would continue to receive commissions from Britney's work until 2008. Spears, he claims, has paid nothing since December last year, and also failed to provide an audit of her earnings from which commissions can be calculated. Britney has possibly had other things of her mind this year, but the legal papers are suing for breach of contract and failure to report account records.
One assumes Britney could easily afford to pay Wright his $15,000 if reports on Friday regarding the popstress' monthly spending are true. The reports were seemingly based on court papers filed as part of her divorce proceedings with Kevin Federline, and reveal that she spends £51,000 a month on "entertainment, gifts and holidays", £24,633 on monthly mortgage payments on her two homes, £8000 on clothes and £2400 on eating out. £10,000 goes to the Fed as spousal support, with another £7500 paid to her ex for the upkeep of their two children, which are currently in his custody of course. Some might criticise Britney for spending £500 more on clothes than on her kids each month, or for earmarking just £250 for charity, though it should be noted Britney doesn't seem to save or invest any of her £370,000 a month earnings, which, if you think about, is redistribution of wealth on a massive scale - proper socialism and all that.
The papers also apparently revealed how K-Fed spends his £10,000, a modest sum in comparison to Britney's monthly outgoings. £3750 goes on the rent for his and his children's home, £3000 more on security, £1000 on clothing, £750 on eating out and the rest on "entertainment, gifts and holidays". He doesn't give anything to charity, though perhaps Britney's £250 of donations is meant to be from the two of them.
Not that any of this is any of our business really, and we really ought to stop giving poor Britney such a hard time. Well, that's what Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong says. He last week expressed his sympathies for Britney who, he reckons, has been "thrown to the lions" by her people and the media.
Discussing Britney's much derided performance at the MTV VMAs back in September with Rolling Stone, he says: "People want blood. They want to see other people thrown to the lions. Watching Britney Spears was like watching a public execution. How could the people at MTV, the people around her, not know this girl was fucked up? People came in expecting a train wreck, and they got more than they bargained for".
Asked if Britney should take responsibility for her own actions, he continued: "She is a manufactured child. She has come up through this Disney perspective, thinking that all life is about is to be the most ridiculous star you could be. But it's also about what we look at as entertainment - watching somebody go through that".
Attempting to be "ridiculous" may explain allegations that, amidst all the ongoing court attempts to gain custody of her children, Britney invited a man to snort cocaine off her chest at what is being described as a "wild Hollywood" party. This was the other tabloid story to come from the world of Britney last week. The claims come from one Scott Kohler who, says the Sun, claims he and some friends ended up at a party with Spears on 19 Oct, adding that as the coke was passed around he "joked he wanted to do a line off [Spears'] chest, and she agreed". Which makes you see why the judge overseeing the Spears/K-Fed custody battle has been so strict on the frequency with which Britney must take drugs tests.
And so to our last Britney nugget of the day, at last. And Posh Spice has told reporters that she is thankful to Britney for diverting the LA paps away from her and her children. She says that when she and her family first arrived in LA for hubby David Beckham to play for the LA Galaxy football team the paparazzi were all over them, but that they have quickly moved away, spending more time following Spears instead. Vicki B told reporters: "They [the paps] kind of figured out that actually we're quite boring and Britney's far more interesting, and so they go to her house. We're not out at nightclubs every night. We're a bit boring for them I think".